Heyman’s Latest: Hamels/Jays, Lucroy, Baez, Correa, Alvarez

Jon Heyman of CBS Sports has published the latest installment of his weekly Inside Baseball column, and he kicks it off by reporting that the Blue Jays have inquired on Cole Hamels. However, Heyman hears that Hamels was unwilling to waive his no-trade clause to allow a trade to Toronto, which is a blow for both clubs. The Jays desperately need help in both the rotation and the bullpen, and the Phillies, Heyman notes, would love to get their hands on young pitchers with the upside of Aaron Sanchez and Daniel Norris. The Blue Jays have a bit of financial leeway after going with inexpensive options at second base, center field and left field, and Heyman writes that the Blue Jays are expected to look at other potential front-line starters this summer as they become available. (He speculatively mentions Johnny Cueto and Scott Kazmir, though neither’s available just yet.) Additionally, Heyman notes that Blue Jays manager John Gibbons’ job is safe, as GM Alex Anthopoulos has a strong relationship with the skipper and recognizes that the team’s problems are roster-related and shouldn’t be pinned on Gibbons.

Some more highlights from the column, though it’s worth a read in its entirety…

The Braves are said to be disappointed in the play of Christian Bethancourt, even from a defensive standpoint, and recently inquired with the Brewers on Jonathan Lucroy. However, Atlanta executives were told by the Brewers that Lucroy isn’t available at this time. That the Brewers wouldn’t trade Lucroy isn’t a shock; he’s owed a very affordable $4MM in 2016 with a $5.25MM option for the 2017 season, so even if the team can’t quickly right the ship, he’d still have enormous trade value at the 2016 trade deadline. More interesting, to me, is that the Braves would so quickly look for an upgrade over Bethancourt and that they’re acting somewhat as buyers. Lucroy, of course, could be called a long-term piece that would be around to help the team when its rebuild is closer to completion. However, acquiring him would surely require the sting of parting with some of the key components of that rebuild.

Some rival execs feel that the Cubs are willing to part with Javier Baez and Dan Vogelbach in trades, in part because each was drafted under the previous administration and is not held in as high a regard by the new front office. Each player comes with issues, however, as Baez is trying to cut down on his swing and improve his contact skills, while a scout described first baseman Vogelbach as a “30 fielder” to Heyman (in reference to the 20-80 scouting scale).

There are members of the Astros’ field staff that want to see Carlos Correa with the team right now, but Houston will likely keep him in the minors for another month or so in order to lessen the risk of Correa achieving Super Two status. I’ll add that the Astros will have a more legitimate claim that Correa still needs minor league time than other teams in similar situations have had in the past. Correa is still just 20 years old and has only nine games of experience at the Triple-A level, though he’s continued his brilliant work at the plate there, hitting .326/.362/.558 with a pair of homers. Also of interest to Astros fans — or to fans of teams needing outfield help — the Astros are on the lookout for starting pitching upgrades, and outfield prospect Preston Tucker “seems to be available.” Tucker recently made his MLB debut and has a .963 OPS through 34 plate appearances to go along with a strong minor league track record.

Marlins right-hander Henderson Alvarez has been pitching for years with a partial tear of the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow, according to Heyman. Some have described it as a “90 percent tear,” but he’s been able to pitch effectively in spite of the issue. Alvarez wouldn’t be the first to pitch through a UCL tear; Ervin Santana and Adam Wainwright are both recent examples of pitchers who pitched for many seasons with partially torn UCLs. Wainwright ultimately underwent Tommy John, though Santana’s is said to have healed and is no longer an issue. In another Marlins-related note, Heyman hears that pitching coach Chuck Hernandez is “under the microscope” with both Jarred Cosart and Steve Cishek struggling greatly in 2015.

Brewers starters Kyle Lohse and Matt Garza have little trade value due to their 2015 struggles, but Lohse’s lesser financial commitment and superior clubhouse reputation give him more value. The team is reluctant to trade not only Lucroy, but shortstop Jean Segura as well. The Brewers are a bit more open to dealing Carlos Gomez than that pair, as Gomez is closer to free agency (he’s controlled through 2016).

The Mets remain reluctant to trade any of their top arms, as they’ve seen on multiple occasions how quickly Tommy John surgery or other injuries can thin out a club’s depth. (Matt Harvey, Zack Wheeler, Jacob deGrom and Steven Matz have all had TJ in their careers.) The Mets are also not rushing to find a shortstop, but they have indeed been “all over the map” in terms of trade possibilities with the Cubs.

Coco Crisp’s neck injury is apparently quite serious, and there’s a fear that the oft-injured Athletics outfielder will ultimately require surgery that could bring his season to an end.

The Blue Jays would still like to extend both Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion, but there have yet to be serious discussions with either slugger’s camp. Both players are controlled through the end of the 2016 season.

Comments

Anthopoulos should be untouchable…. The man traded Vernon Wells and his 86M salary for Mike Napoli and Juan Rivera. Vernon Wells and the 86M owed to him. I repeat…. Vernon Wells and the 86M owed to him.

That is probably the only really good trade he has ever made. The guy is good at drafting players and building a solid farm system as he has done with the Blue Jays, but he isn’t very good at making trades in which he wins.

That looks like another good trade, yes. However if you look at it objectively, you’d realize that he has made more bad trades than good ones. Like I said, he knows how to build a farm system but has a tendency of getting fleeced in trades.

Anybody would of got fleeced as Toronto GM. We’re a Canadian team….we get taken advantage of for that. Nobody wants to play here if they weren’t drafted by us or an average player who needed a team to take a chance on them to improve their career…..lol

Don’t get me wrong, I like Alex Anthopoulos. He’s made some bad moves, but he’s also made a lot of good ones (his drafts are fantastic, no one could predict the Marlins deal working out so poorly, and Devon Travis looks like a great add, even with Gose playing well in Detroit). But AA is being stubborn when it comes to admitting that his manager’s decisions are generally poor (Josh Donaldson should never be a leadoff hitter, and Jose Bautista batting second takes away the ability to improve a lesser player by batting him in front of Bautista). If he refuses to get rid of Gibbons because they are good friends, he is going to have to be fired so that the team can move forward.

Cole Hamels has a limited no-trade right? 10-5 rights counts based on service time correct? So that means he only has a little over 8 years in the bigs. Stinks for the Blue Jays, but I would be lying if I said I wasn’t happy as a Yankees fan. Not because I think we will get Hamels (doubtful), but because our division stays mediocre for a few more months :).

It seems to me this is the kind of account that teams should work hard to keep from the media. It doesn’t serve Toronto to be seen as a non-preferred destination and it doesn’t serve Philadelphia to see the Blue Jays ‘outed’ as a non-contender for Hamels’ services. Publicity doesn’t serve Hamels, either, even if he is only exercising his refusal rights.

I would assume other teams find out about it and report it in order to increase their own leverage. Or maybe somebody from the Blue Jays organization told the reporters figuring they have nothing to lose, though having Hamels end up on another AL East team would suck for them.

I don’t know, and I guess that really is the true question to be asking. If anybody, I’d assume the Phillies have relayed previous information to other teams, and perhaps these other teams have made assumptions which could be quite accurate.

But as you said, it doesn’t help Amaro any to tell any given team that any other given team is out of the running. So it almost has to be some guy within one of the two organizations who wants to establish credibility as a source, or just likes to talk.

Publicity be dammed ! These guys have Lawyers who are Professional Agents and accountants , he will do what Best for him and his family ( as he should ) and so would you . Yankees Dollars Matter ! The extension that Blue Jays would have to offer would have to cover the Amount of his Next contact at age 34. Challenging but Reasonable demand.

It does help Hamels, in that players typically can get some different considerations if they first refuse the trade.

For instance, Hamels can say no now, it gets leaked that the teams want to make the deal, public pressure to get the player traded increases (especially on the Toronto side in this case…”Get the deal done, we want a pennant!!” attitude).

So Hamels then says he’ll accept the trade if his option year becomes guaranteed at maximum value. Whoosh, trade occurs. He’s now guaranteed $18M more than he was yesterday, and all he had to do was say no.

I think that would’ve been a foolish thing for Toronto to do though. Hamels would still be pretty “cheap”, and it isn’t like they aren’t fine with having older pitchers being highly paid, as are Buehrle and Dickey right now. I think Hamels just doesn’t want to go to Toronto. Period.

22MM per year?! That would be foolish. He would be no more valuable than any typical ace available in free agency then. His contract is what makes him extremely valuable, taking that away would be dumb.

IMHO the best move Toronto could make for a starter is forget about Hamels & Cueto and turn to Oakland again for Kazmir or if AA can swing it, try to get Gray. He was able to get Donaldson (paid a big price) so getting Gray shouldn’t be impossible.

I doubt that. If that were the case it certainly would’ve been mentioned in the article. Hamels wants to go to a contender. He didn’t get dealt in the off-season and hasn’t been dealt yet. He might assume possibilities are limited. If he turns down a team he wants to go to over the option year, then who knows if he’ll get dealt. But if he didn’t want to play in Toronto then turning down the deal is easy for him.

I think AA could be on the hot seat if the Jays finish last this year. The Marlins and Dickey trades look like busts with Reyes, Johnson, and Buehrhle being overpaid, injured, and or struggiling. Also, trading Yan Gomes for nothing and not building a good bullpen also looking like negatives.
Also, the Happ/Lind for Saunders/Estrada double deal seems to have really hurt them due to Saunders injury issues.

Paid 14 million for a 6.20 ERA from JJ
Paid 48 million, plus 44 more over next 2 years for Reyes who has been hurt multiple times and will only get worse.
Paid 49 million for Buehrle for 5.3 WAR.
Traded away 5 current MLB players including Henderson Alvarez who had a 2.65 ERA last year and Yunel Escobar who has provided 4.4 WAR over last 3 years

The manager from whatever team finishes last in the East will probably be on the hot seat. With the overall mediocrity of the division, every team thinks it should contend and will not be happy with a last place finish. Ax the Manager!

I’m sure “rival execs” would love to get Vogelbach and Baez on the cheap. However, Theo and Jed have their own plans.
As to “low regard”, anyone who pays attention to Maddon’s glowing remarks on Baez will see quite the opposite. And Vogelbach is a bona fide hitter and a hard worker, with adequate defensive skills. The Cubs like him as future backup 1B or as a top DH candidate in case the NL goes for the DH.
Heyman should know better. He is just stirring the pot.

Both guys would be in National League if they could play in Major Leagues, Both are Future American League Players, With Baez he strikes outs way too much and Vogelback has hands of stone and no range.

Vogelbach (which is the correct spelling) has been in Organized Baseball a little over two years, so tell us how he should already be in the Majors. His hands are fine and his range is adequate for 1B. And he can hit all day long.
Baez has cut his SO rate drastically since he came back to play after his extended leave when his beloved sister died. He has changed his stance and approach and is pounding it at AAA. He also is an excellent infielder.
Both are firmly in the Cubs’ plans, and attest to the depth of their top-rated minor-league system.
But keep ranting on…..

This is why I like MLBTR, bullet points, straight to the point, all condensed in a short article. No constantly browsing through twitter or reading 9-page articles. This is a great piece, keep up the good work.

That bit about Bethancourt is odd, unless he really is a butcher behind the plate. He’s cheap, he’s under team control, and if he does become even a replacement-level player, you can get out from under him before his arb numbers become unreasonable.

I would like Lucroy on the Braves. He is a good hitter and would fit well into our scheme. I don’t believe in Beth like I use too but he can be a good backup or may develop with some more years. Ship him and Perez off to Mil.

well he only has 4 years or so of minors experience. What better way to learn then at the big league level? What he’s been asked to do isn’t outrageous, just be average and learn. Which he hasn’t been doing. With that said, I believe he can be. Look at his past couple games! They’ve been good!

Brewers are going to be trading away middle infielders over the next couple seasons. Wisler seems all right but not too terribly inspiring. The only way I’d imagine it happening was if the Brewers really liked some arms the Braves had in their system.

I’m just talking about in terms of value not necessarily trying to match up needs. Wisler (#34) and Peraza (#52) were the only two Braves to make the top 100 prospects list. Lucroy is worth a package built around a top-10 prospect in baseball, so ultimately it’d be more quantity over quality with the Braves even though Wisler and Peraza would become our two best prospects based on preseason rankings.

That list has been updated and is not the preseason top 100 list that included, I believe, 6 Braves. Bethancourt, Folty are not on there because they have too much ML exp now. Fried would have been on there had he not been recovering from TJ. And there’s a slew of guys on the cusp with various evaluators raving including: Rio Ruiz, Tyrell Jenkins and Ricardo Sanchez. I am alright with parting with Peraza but couldn’t see them parting with Sims, but I could be wrong since that was a Wren selection, though he fits the mold of what Schuerholz likes (high school GA arm).

I’m talking about Baseball America’s preseason rankings, which those rankings are correct. Yes there are other rankings that place some of the Braves prospects higher. The point remains that they don’t have that premier prospect to front a package that Lucroy is worth. It’s going to be an absolute raiding of the Braves system to pry Lucroy away because of this.

I was wondering the same thing. I was thinking Minor to start with…maybe Wisler/Sims/Jenkins (or a combo of 2 of 3), Ruiz, and then some. I would be OK with that but Hart just rebuilt the farm system and he would have to give it up for Lucroy. It would be nice to have a legit right handed cleanup hitter behind Freeman though.

I see Preston Tucker’s trade value, but I really hope the Astros don’t trade him. An outfield of Springer, Tucker and Marisnick is a very solid outfield for years to come. Plus, if the Astros take Kyle Tucker in the draft, which is very possible, then we could have both brothers roaming the outfield. That’d be pretty cool.

I would much rather be the Cubs than the Mets right now, it’s easier to get good pitching at the deadline and the Cubs are more proactive in getting better. If one of the Mets arms goes down like Harvey or DeGrom they are done. The Cubs will also spend on free agent pitchers next year.

Not with him, Plus you contend with Cardinals, Pirates ,Reds, New York Mets( pitching ) , Nationals , Dodgers and Giants and Padres , Good Luck with a Number Three/four starting pitcher. Hamels or Cuteo does it, Not Kazmir !

from my armchair : gibbons’ position was secured this year, when stroman went down, certainly when Reyes went on the dl.

I would place Bauts on the dl stat, to get him really for a trade, before this year’s deadline! Trade Edwin now, before he goes down! And give Buehrle over to a team whose manager has an iota about baseball. Those three professional players will save Rogersinc millions, which they can sink into the Leaves, and think of the 20 year old incoming prospects who will thrive under the tutelage of jays’ coaching, and we fans can continue to be elated with three, four, five more years of Gibby-ball in Toronto. And with them gone, think of the team’s draft position next year, and the year after….the possibilities are breathtaking